Gregor and the Forgotten Prophecy
by Charlotte Wilks
Summary: Two months after Code of Claw, Gregor's family is preparing to move to Virginia when Luxa comes to the Overland in an attempt to avoid being forced into marriage. Gregor returns to the Underland with her where a new prophecy is discovered.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Underland chronicles or the characters. Those belong to Suzanne Collins.**

**Author's Note: Hey guys! This is my first fanfic ever, so I hope that you read it and review it. I promise that I'll get back to you on all of your reviews(so plz plz plz review!). **

** ~~Charla~~ **

Gregor and the Forgotten Prophecy

Chapter 1

It had been two months since Gregor had left the Underland and he still didn't feel like he belonged back in New York, but he was glad that he hadn't moved to Virginia…yet. He had to go around just wearing jeans and hoodies because his scars were still visible, unexplainable and weren't going to disappear despite the daily use of the cream that Howard had given him when he'd come back home.

_Home,_ he thought bitterly as he shoved more eggs into his mouth. _I'll never belong anywhere in the Overland again._

"Lizzie, Boots, Gregor?" His mom called in a hoarse voice thick with tears as she hung up the phone. When she saw them gazing up at her she continued, "That was Dr. Quarinski from St. Vincent hospital. It's Grandma. She died."

While Gregor, his parents, and his sisters Lizzie and Boots, had been in the Underland on their most recent and last visit, Gregor's grandmother got sick and ended up in the hospital. Now she was dead.

Lizzie stood up and rushed over to her mother and gave her a comforting hug as they both began to sob quietly.

"So, what are we going to do?" Gregor asked tentatively as he got up to join the hug. His mind immedeatly flashed to all of his friends in the Underland and…Luxa.

His mom steadied her voice somewhat and said, "We're going to plan her funeral, sell our house, and then move to Virginia."

"No!" Lizzie exclaimed.

"Yes, Lizzie. We will never be mixed up with the Underland again. It's a horrible place they kidnapped Boots, tried to kill your father, locked Gregor up and attempted to murder him on several occasions, and they gave me the plague." Gregor's mom declared.

Gregor let out a sigh of frustration before saying, "But think of all the good that's come from their! Lizzie, Boots, Dad, and I all met lots of friends. And they treated you with, like, a lot of respect, and cared for you, me, Dad, and Boots when we were sick and injured."

"I don't want to talk about this, Gregor. You, Lizzie, Boots, everyone in this apartment is banned from going to the Underland! Ever!" And with that, his mom stormed into the living room.

"Gre-e-egor," Lizzie sobbed. "we have to go back to the U-u-underland! Ri-ip-ip-red!" Lizzie continued sobbing as she fled to her room.

Gregor walked into the kitchen and asked his mom, "Are we going to school today?"

When he'd gotten back to the Overland, his parents had come up with the excuse that they'd all been visiting Gregor's dying grandfather in Italy, and that Grace (Gregor's mom) had sent them to an Italian school for the first two months of the school year.

"You can if you want to," his mom said staring up at the ceiling. "I'll call your school and tell them what happened to Grandma if you want, though."

"No, I want to go. I've missed enough school already," Gregor replied quickly. Gregor was completely devastated that they were going through with the moving plans, and he couldn't stand being in the apartment for another minute so he grabbed his backpack and bolted out the door, trying to think of a plan.

**I hope you enjoyed my first chapter in Gregor and the Forgotten Prophecy. I know that this chapter was short, but I promise that the next chapter will be longer. Again, please review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Underland, the Overland, or the Underland Chronicles they belong to the fantabulous Suzanne Collins. I only own the plot and the actions of the characters.**

**Author's Note: Sorry that it's been a while! I just started school and everything has been very chaotic! Also, my laptop crashed, which slowed up my uploading process. Many thanks to the reviews I recieved; I greatly appreciate your input! But, anyways; I hope you like this chapter; it's definitely longer than the first one. Also, please review and tell me what you liked, hated, and think I can do to make it better, and ask me to clarify anything that confused you. I promise to get back on all of your reviews!**

Chapter 2

When Gregor got to his first class, he quickly walked over to his usual seat in the back row between his two friends Larry and Angelina. He threw his stuff down and slid into his chair.

"You seem upset," Angelina observed looking at him with concern.

Gregor sighed and said, "Yep."

"So…" Larry inquired. "Are you going to tell us, or do we have to guess?"

"My grandma died this morning...and I have to move to my stupid family farm in Virginia," Gregor mumbled.

Angelina gasped and touched Gregor's arm comfortingly saying, "That's terrible!"

"Are you sure you have to move?" Larry asked, exasperated. "Why?"

Gregor replied, "Yes, my mom is tired of living in the city and thinks that country air would be better for Lizzie, Boots, and I."

At that moment, Gregor, Larry, and Angelina's Homeroom teacher walked in and silenced the class with a glare.

"Class, we have a new student starting school with us here at Cascade Junior High. I expect you will all welcome her warmly and treat her kindly. She will be joining us at lunchtime and I want…. you, Angelina, to show her around." Ms. Morris said brusquely.

When it came time for lunch, Gregor decided to spend it at his apartment. When he got in, his sister Lizzie rushed over to him and asked, "What are you doing home? Have you done something bad?"

"No," Gregor smiled. "I just thought I'd have lunch with you and Boots."

Lizzie beamed up at him and pulled him into the kitchen and gave him a PB&J along with some chips and milk.

"Gregor!" Boots exclaimed when she saw him, her face covered in peanut butter.

"Hey, little girl!"

His mom came into the room and, when she saw Gregor, said, "Did you change your mind? Do you not want to go to school today after all?"

"No, Mom I'm still going I just wanted to eat here instead." Then Gregor added quietly, "Angelina and Larry are asking lots of questions about why we're moving and I don't have the energy to talk about it."

"I understand, dear, but since you are going back to school, get there on time."

After twenty minutes of eating in silence, Gregor headed towards the door calling over his shoulder, "I'd better get back to school now, and afterwards I might hang out in the park or with Angelina and Larry."

"Okay," his mom called back.

When Gregor got back he headed to his history class that he had with Larry and asked, "So, what's the new girl like?"

"She's like frikin' hot!" Larry exclaimed. "You definitely have to meet her. I think she has study hall with you."

"What's her name?" Gregor asked, pretending to be interested. Nobody was as pretty as Luxa to him.

"I think it was Lexa," Larry said. "But I'm not telling you anything else about her. You have to see for yourself. I might ask her out, though."

Gregor laughed. "You do that, Larry."

History passed in a blur as Gregor was thinking of a plan to stay in New York. When he got to the library for study hall, he scanned the room for Lexa, and seeing no one sat down at an empty table so he could formulate a plan.

When the final bell finally rang, Gregor retrieved his things from his locker and trudged out of the school and was ready to head over to Central Park when he saw a ring of students chanting, "Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!" He trudged over to the ring and asked a girl from his grade named Anna who was on the outer-edge of the ring, "Who's fighting?"

"The new girl and Raul," she said excitedly.

Gregor had never liked it when bullies fought other people, especially new kids who didn't know much yet. And Raul was the meanest kid in Gregor's entire middle school and loved to pick on people who didn't have a prayer of beating him. So, Gregor pushed his way through the ring to defend the new girl from Raul, his rager sensation was buzzing quietly inside of him, but he knew he could keep it in check since none of his friends were the ones being provoked.

When he got through the ring of students, he was shocked by what he saw; he saw Raul getting ready to attack…

_Luxa._

"I'm gonna punch you so hard you'll wish you'd never called me an idiot," Raul threatened lamely.

"I'd like to see you try," Luxa countered superiorly.

Gregor was still frozen with shock when Raul threw the first punch, which Luxa neatly dodged as she kicked him in the gut, the watching middle schoolers cheering wildly.

Raul doubled over in pain, Luxa smiling triumphantly. As he regained his breath, he called out, "Mike, Frank!"

Mike and Frank -his two wingmen- stepped out of the ring and each seized one of Luxa's arms as Luxa cried out angrily, "That's not fair!"

Gregor immediately unfroze and stepped into the empty space and growled, "Leave her alone, Raul!" his rager sensation buzzing uncontrollably.

"Gregor!" Luxa exclaimed in relief.

"Ha! What? You afraid Girlie here'll get hurt?" Raul taunted. "Well, watch this!"

And with that, Raul let out a punch directed at Luxa that Gregor caught. Then he kicked Raul in the gut with his knee, and punched Raul's jaw.

"Aah!" Raul cried out in pain as he fell backwards, slipping into unconsciousness.

Gregor then turned on Mike and Frank leveling them with a glare as they released their hold on Luxa.

Everyone watching was silent as they gaped at Gregor, who said to Luxa, taking her hand "Come on, Luxa."

He towed her out of the crowd and towards the street; some of the students began to follow them. Gregor hailed a cab and motioned for Luxa to get in. When he'd closed the door behind him, he shouted through the bullet-proof glass at the driver, "Central Park!" and the taxi started.

He then turned to Luxa and asked, "Luxa, are you all right?"

"Yes!" she sighed throwing her arms around his neck. "Oh, Gregor, I've missed you so much!"

He embraced her back saying, "Me, too. But why are you in the Overland what did the council have to say about it?"

"Only Aurora knows that I am up here, though I suppose she's informed the council and Vikus by now. But I am here because I missed you and I can't bear to never see you again," And with that she buried her face into his shoulder.

"Will the council come and get you? How did you know where I go to school?" Gregor questioned.

"They may send someone up to get me and Nerissa saw the school you go to in a vision. You're not going to send me back are you?" Luxa said looking up at his face pleadingly.

"No, Luxa, of course I won't!" At that moment, the cab drove up to Central Park. "We need to get out now."

Gregor opened the door for her, paid the cab driver, and led Luxa over to a park bench.

"Okay, so where are you staying?" Gregor asked Luxa.

"I have only arrived here today, so I am not sure."

"Well, you can maybe stay at my apartment complex. We can't let my mom know that you're here; she'll flip. Maybe you can sleep in Mrs. Cormaci's apartment…" Gregor trailed off debating internally weather or not Mrs. Cormaci would agree.

She smiled slightly at Gregor. When he looked up and met her gaze, he saw something hidden in her eyes.

"Luxa," Gregor began slowly. "What's your real-I mean other-reason for coming?"

Luxa dropped her gaze and then whispered quietly, "The council has decided that they shall choose someone for me to marry."

**Author's Note: Duh, duh, duh, duh, DUH! The next chapter should be up in about a week or two. I hope you liked it! And, reviews are like mocha frappes; I absolutely love them, so **_**please **_**review. Also, many thanks to my new beta reader authorEmilyRay for helping me to edit this story and make it better! Also, please check put my poll and vote!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:**** I do not-unfortunately-own the Underland Chronicles. I simply added on to the magnificent series belonging to Suzanne Collins.**

**Author's Note: ****Hey guys! Here's chapter 3, and thank you for all of the reviews, it means a lot to me, And, as for those of you who haven't reviewed, PLEASE do! You're reviews are what help fuel me for writing this story. Don't hesitate to tell me what you want to see happen, what you hated, like, and/or what confused you. Also, you can PM me anything you'd like to say as well.**

**I love you all!**

**~~~~~Charla~~~~~**

Chapter 3

"Oh," Gregor said completely thrown. "And what do you think?"

Luxa looked up at Gregor exasperated. "What do you _think_ I mean! Don't you remember _anything_ that I told you two months ago!"

_Ugh. Of course she still likes me. Why else would she come here?_ Gregor thought before saying, "Luxa, you're right. Sorry. I just couldn't think of anything else to say."

Luxa sighed, and then said hoarsely, "No, its fine. I'm just…upset." She then laid her head on Gregor's shoulder and began to cry.

"Luxa," Gregor said soothingly wrapping his arms around her, "Don't worry. We'll figure something out." He wondered how he was going to be able to fulfill this last promise as he rubbed her back comfortingly,

Once Luxa had stopped crying, Gregor took her out for pizza.

"This is amazing!" Luxa exclaimed after swallowing a bite of cheese pizza. "I should have come to the Overland sooner!"

"Wait till you've tasted lasagna," Gregor said, smiling.

They'd figured out a plan. After Luxa had calmed down, Gregor had called Mrs. Cormaci to ask her if Luxa could stay in her apartment. He had explained the situation, and after a lot of pleading from both Gregor and Luxa, she'd consented. So, after they finished their dinner, Gregor was going to sneak Luxa up to Mrs. Cormaci's apartment and then go back to his own apartment and go back to sulking.

"Mmm," Luxa sighed after tasting a breadstick. "Ripred _needs_ to import this stuff."

"Yeah, no offense, Luxa, but you seriously need Overland food down there," Gregor said laughing.

Luxa rolled her eyes, but nodded.

"C'mon. We'd better go," Gregor said and added when he saw Luxa look at her pizza hesitantly, "We can take the pizza with us."

Luxa jumped up and linked her arm with Gregor's as he grabbed the pizza. He laughed, and in a few minutes they were back at his apartment complex.

Gregor led Luxa to the elevator, but when the doors opened, she jumped back and hissed, "What is this?"

"It's an elevator," Gregor explained. "It'sort of like the lift you have for the palace in Regalia. New Yorkers usually use them instead of stairs. Don't worry, it's perfectly safe."

Hesitantly, Luxa cautiously stepped in. "You have many strange things, Overlander," Luxa said, her eyes darting around the interior of the box-like compartment. "Many strange things in deed."

Gregor laughed and said, "Yeah, cuz riding an abnormal sized bat everywhere is _so_ average."

For a moment, confusion dominated Luxa's expression. Then, comprehension flickered across her eyes, which was replaced with annoyance. She playfully hit his arm, and said, "Well, in my world everyone rides bats, and we aren't so lazy that we can't take the time to walk up the stairs."

_Ping._

"Okay, this is Mrs. Cormaci's floor," Gregor said as the elevator doors opened.

He quickly scanned the hallway, which was empty to his relief, and then led Luxa to Mrs. Cormaci's room.

After he quickly knocked on the door, it was flung open and Mrs. Cormaci stood there bewildered and said, "Oh, thank goodness you made it here, darlings!" as she yanked them into the room.

"You must be Luxa," Mrs. Cormaci said smiling at the slightly bewildered queen.

"Yes," she replied sweetly. "And I take it that you're Mrs. Cormaci? Gregor has told me _so_ much about you! Thank you for letting me stay here, it's very generous of you."

"Oh now no need for that," Mrs. Cormaci clucked before turning to Gregor. "Now, as for you young man, you'd better march yourself to your place right now. You're mother is getting worried sick and jumping to all kinds of conclusions! Lizzie thinks you've gone to the Underland and if your mother goes to the laundry room…"

That was all it took to get Gregor moving. He gave Luxa a quick kiss on the cheek, said good night to her and Mrs. Cormaci, and rushed back to his apartment.

"Where have you been?" His mother exclaimed a certain hitch in her throat indicating that she had been distraught with worry.

Gregor did feel sorry for making his mom anxious, but that guilt was partially overshadowed by the fact that she was forcing him, Lizzie, Boots, and his dad to move. "I'm sorry, Mom," he said in a monotonous tone so she'd think that he was just upset at moving. "I didn't realize how late it had gotten. I was at Central Park."

"Don't you ever do that to me again!" His mother chastised.

Gregor nodded and muttered, "Sure, Mom. Can I go to bed now? I'm kind of tired."

"Grace, let him go. He's just upset about moving, that's all." His dad said to his mom.

His mother sighed. "Okay, but if you're out past 7:30 ever again, you're grounded."

"Yes, ma'am," he said as he dragged himself to his room.

The next morning after Gregor had readied himself for school, he went into the kitchen to get himself some pop tarts.

"Hey Liz," he greeted his sister. "You goin' to school today?"

Lizzie stared at her coco puffs thoughtfully before saying, "I think I will. I need to tell Jed that we're….you know. Besides, we won't be moving for a few months, so I don't want to fall behind."

Gregor was about to smile and say that it was a good idea, until he remembered that he'd have to walk Luxa to school as well. Instead he said, "Lizzie, you know its okay for you to stay home for another day. Mom won't mind, and you can look after Boots and Dad."

"Gregor, I don't need to look after them, Mom got the week off," Lizzie said brightly as Gregor's heart sank.

Gregor forced a smile on his face and said, "That's great."

He went through the motions of eating his breakfast, but he was really trying to figure out how to get both Luxa and Lizzie to school. Finally, it was 7:40 and he knew that Lizzie had to be at school by 7:50, and he by 8:00. He was out of time and still lacking a solution, so he was left with two choices and made a snap decision. "C'mon, Liz we don't want to be late."

They grabbed their backpacks and headed out the door. Gregor led Lizzie down the hall, but passed the elevator. "Umm, Gregor," Lizzie asked hesitantly, though still following Gregor. "Where are we going?"

Gregor stopped in front of Mrs. Cormaci's door, and looked at his sister intently. "Can you keep a secret?"

Lizzie slowly nodded, worried about what he was hiding, but letting curiosity get the better of her.

"Good," and with that Gregor knocked on the door.

**Author's Note: Yes, I know. It's a short chapter. Sorry! But the good news is that I know what's going to happen in the next chapter for the most part, and **_**hopefully**_** it'll be longer. Anyways, in the mean time please review! Tell me what you liked, didn't, want to see happen, and what your favorite color is. Also, check out the poll on my profile and vote!**

**~~~~~Charla~~~~~**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I didn't write TUC, however, I did write…an essay about why homework loads should be dropped. My original main reason; it prevents me from writing, but that didn't go over very well with my teacher, so instead my main reason was stress.**

**Author's Note: Okay everyone here's chapter 4! Thanks to all of you who reviewed and as for those of you who haven't; please! It only takes like five seconds! I don't mean to whine, but your reviews are what help fuel this story. Also, many thanks to those of you who have added me, or my stories to your favorites, and/or have subscribed to me/this story. Okay, enough blabbing from me, I know that you really just want to read what happens. Enjoy!**

**~~~~~Charla~~~~~**

Chapter 4

"Good morning, Gregor!" Mrs. Cormaci said cheerfully, not noticing Lizzie standing just behind Gregor.

Gregor smiled back and replied, "Hi, Mrs. Cormaci. Thanks again for doing this."

"Tsk," Mrs. Cormaci said shaking her head in mock dismay. "Haven't we been over this? Well, do come in."

At that moment she noticed Lizzie and then added stuttering and casting glances at Gregor, "W-why g-g-good morning Lizzie."

"I haven't told her yet Mrs. Cormaci, and she promised she wouldn't tell," Gregor reassured her.

Mrs. Cormaci nodded, and said, "Well, I have to go-um-shopping! I'll see you later. Have a fun day at school."

"Gregor, what on earth is going on?" Lizzie asked, puzzled.

Gregor motioned for her to stay as he walked into the kitchen where he found Luxa eating a bowl of corn flakes. "Hey, Luxa!" He said.

She looked up and smiled at him before launching herself at him. "So what are we doing today?" She asked, releasing him.

"We are going to school," Gregor replied as he tried to cover his blush.

Luxa's face fell. "What? We were there yesterday! Don't you want to do something else?" she pleaded.

"Of course I do, but it's against the law to skip it. Besides, you might learn something new."

Luxa rolled her eyes before replying, "And what, pray tell, do you expect me to learn at a 'school' where they don't even know simple defense?"

"Oh," Gregor said vaguely, but smiling, "You'll have to come and find out for yourself."

Just then, Lizzie walked into the room, but stopped dead in her tracks when she saw _Luxa_ in Mrs. Cormaci's apartment _talking_ to Gregor. "Oh-My-Gosh!" she exclaimed. "Luxa?"

"Hello, Lizzie. What are you doing here?" Luxa asked.

"What am I doing here? I live her, but you-you're _here?_"

Gregor placed his hands on Lizzie's shoulder, and when she looked up at him, he said to her, "Lizzie, Luxa is going to be staying here for a while, okay? You can't say a word about this to Mom, Dad, or Boots, you promised."

Lizzie still looking a little bewildered nodded and said, "Okay, but is Ripred coming, too?"

Luxa laughed before saying, "I don't think so. The gnawers have a harder time blending in here, and he's probably too busy being lazy, though I suppose that he no longer can do that now he has to deal with the fact that I'm missing."

"Oh," Lizzie said looking slightly disappointed.

"Don't worry, Liz. You're Ripred's favorite. Trust me, he definitely misses you," Gregor said.

"Well, I vote we go to school. Sorry, Liz, but I think we made you late," Gregor said.

Lizzie's head snapped up instantaneously and she began shoving them out the door saying, "C'mon we gotta go! I can't be late after I skipped yesterday!"

They walked to Lizzie's elementary school talking about the Underland and how everyone was doing there. After Lizzie was inside, they began to work on a cover story for how Gregor knew Luxa. They barely made it into Homeroom before the bell rang, and they quickly took the two seats by Angelina in the back row. She smiled at them, but gave a curious glance to Gregor as he received an annoyed one from Larry.

As the day went on, it turned out that Gregor had four classes with Luxa. They had Pre-Algebra, English, art, and study hall together.

They'd been splatter painting in art, and Luxa and Gregor had gotten into an all-out paint war. In Pre-Algebra and English, Luxa had already known everything, and smiled smugly at Gregor.

As they walked into the lunch room, Luxa and Gregor chose cheeseburgers and went to sit at Gregor's usual table in the corner with Larry and Angelina.

"Hey guys," Gregor said as they slid into two seats across from Larry and Angelina, "Mind if we sit here?"

Angelina smiled and said, "Not at all, you always sit here."

Gregor blushed slightly, and Larry narrowed his eyes at Gregor and turned to Luxa saying, "So, where'd you go to school before here?"

"I didn't, I was tutored," she replied.

Larry cocked his head slightly to the side and asked, "Why?"

"I didn't want to go to school. I liked having undivided attention, but when we moved here, I decided to give public school a try."

"Where did you live before here?" Angelina cut in.

Gregor panicked, he hadn't told Luxa what to say if she was asked this, but she replied, "At my family farm in Virginia, that's where I met Gregor."

_Okay,_ Gregor thought. _That was different than what I came up with. Oh well, it works._

Larry-taken off guard-said unsure, "Oh, um, you never mentioned her Gregor."

Luxa narrowed her eyes slightly at Gregor, seemingly annoyed, and Gregor struggled to find a good response that would placate Luxa without revealing anything about the Underland. "Uh, I, um, didn't?" He asked, lamely. Then, seeing the look on Luxa's face, backtracked and continued, "No, dude what are you talking about? I told you about her like two summers ago. See, I told you, you don't listen."

"Whatever," Larry seemed upset. Gregor wished that he could explain to Larry what was really going on, but since that was out of the question, he'd just have to settle with pretending that he didn't notice that his friend was not at his most cheerful.

"You're from Virginia? You're awfully pale," Angelina speculated.

"I'm albino," Luxa replied brusquely.

Larry looked her up and down saying, "And your eyes are, like, purple!"

Luxa looked offended as she said, "I had surgery on my irises when I was younger, due to a problem that I had with my sight."

"I think," said Angelina helpfully changing the subject "That we should all go see a movie tonight."

Gregor hesitated before saying, "I'll find out the movie times and call you if anything works."

"Works for me," Angelina said.

"Me, too," Larry added. "What about you, Lexa?"

"Luxa!"

"Yes, I'll have to ask for permission to see if I can come as well," Luxa replied distractedly.

Just then the bell rang and as they began to gather their stuff, Angelina said, "Sounds good then. See you guys later."

"Like you ever obey orders," Gregor snickered once Angelina and Larry were out of earshot.

Luxa pondered how to answer shortly, before she answered, smiling up at him, "But I _always_ ask permission."

"See you in study hall, Luxa," Gregor said, laughing, as he and Angelina headed off to Spanish.

In study hall, Luxa was full of questions.

"What's a movie?" she asked first.

"You remember when I took pictures at Hazard's birthday party right, and also during the war?"

"Yes,"

"Well, we can take thousands of pictures a second and record the sound being played as well so that it's like you can relive what happened over and over again. That's what movies are, except they have people who say things that've been written for them to say. Do you have plays in the Underland?" Gregor attempted to explain.

Luxa nodded.

"Well, that's basically what a movie is," Gregor said. "Um, you might not understand what's happening, so…are you _sure_ that you want to go?"

She contemplated this a little before replying, "Yes, I want to see what a movie is like and I promise to not ask any questions."

"If you're sure," Gregor replied doubtfully.

Luxa nodded and turned her attention to her pre-algebra.

While Gregor and Luxa were leaving school, he found Larry and Angelina and told them that he and Luxa could see a movie anytime after 4:30.

"Cool," Larry grinned. "I don't have anything planned. How about you, Angelina?"

"Well," Angelina began. "I have ballet at 7:30, but it's across from the theatre, so if we went around five, we could be out of there at, like, 6:30 and go to Prince's."

Gregor and Larry nodded their assent, but Luxa just asked, "What's Prince's?"

Gregor had a moment of panic when Larry said rolling his eyes, "Uh, it's a burger joint." When he said it that way, it sounded like 'duh!'

Gregor's rager sense flared, but he quickly subdued it and concentrated on his breathing.

"Larry, you don't have to be mean about it. They may not have had them in Virginia," Angelina scolded.

"They don't," Gregor and Luxa said simultaneously. Then they looked at each other and started laughing.

Angelina smiled and said, "Okay so what movie should we see?"

"I don't know," Larry retorted. "Why don't we see a horror?"

Gregor shuddered. He'd seen enough horror to last him a lifetime. "No," Gregor began slowly. "I think we should see a comedy instead."

Angelina nodded, eyes wide as did Luxa who was slightly confused.

"What comedy should we see then?" Larry asked, shrugging.

"Vampires Suck!" Angelina offered immediately.

Gregor raised an eyebrow saying, "I thought you liked Twilight. You do know that Vampires Suck is the ultimate parody ever, right?"

"Yes, I know, but it looks hilarious," Angelina said before changing the subject. "So, what do you want to see, Luxa?"

Luxa blushed, practically changing her skin color. "I don't really care, but Vampires Suck seems like a good movie to me."

Only Gregor noticed her stumble across the words 'movie' and 'vampires'.

"Then it's settled," Gregor said. "We'll all see Vampires Suck at the 5:15 showing, but right now, Luxa and I _really_ need to go pick Lizzie up from school."

"Oh, yeah! You'd better hurry, Gregor, or you'll be late," Angelina said hurriedly, waving him and Luxa along.

Larry began walking away after Angelina and he called over his shoulder, "See you at the theatre!"

"Bye!" Gregor shouted back as he pulled Luxa along behind him.

They sprinted to Lizzie's school. She was sitting on one of the snow covered steps, one of the last students left.

"Lizzie!" Gregor called out to her as he and Luxa dashed up the steps towards his worried looking sister.

She glared slightly at Gregor-though relief washed over her features-before she said, "What took you so long!"

"I'm sorry, Liz," Gregor apologized. "We were arranging plans to see a movie with Larry and Angelina."

"Would you like a ride, Lizzie?" Luxa asked as she crouched down so Lizzie could climb up onto her back.

"Okay," Lizzie answered, and forgiving them.

When they all arrived back at the apartment complex, Gregor had Luxa wait in the lobby while he dropped Lizzie off at their apartment.

"Mom, Dad, we're home!" Gregor called once he'd opened the door.

Boots came bounding up to them saying, "Gregor! Gregor! I see beeg rat! I see Ripred!"

Gregor and Lizzie exchanged a look, Gregor's face was slightly worried, but Lizzie's was filled with something Gregor couldn't quite put his finger on. Was it hope?

Their mom, coming up behind Boots, just rolled her eyes saying, "No she didn't. I've been with her all day and-thank goodness-there was no one from the Underland."

"Oh," Gregor said brusquely. "Anyways, Larry, Angelina, and I wanted to go see Vampires Suck at 5:15 and go to _Prince's_ afterwards. Is that okay?"

"Sure, honey," Grace replied warmly. "I'm glad you're doing something with your friends. But call us as soon as you get done at _Prince's_, okay?"

"'Kay, Mom. Bye!" Gregor said heading out the door.

When he got down to the lobby, Luxa linked her arm with his saying, "Let's go to the movies."

"Let's go see the stars."

**Author's Note: Okay, for those of you who haven't seen it, that 'Let's go to the movies.' 'Let's go see the stars.' bit at the end is from the movie version of ****Annie****, and I don't own that either. But anyways, this has been my longest chapter so far so please review and tell me what you think. Also, thank you for adding me/my story to your favorites, that means a lot to me. Please, **_**please, **__**please**_** review! And thanks for telling me your favorite colors, I just put that there out of randomness. So, I've decided that I'll have a question for this chapter as well; Who is your favorite music artist? You don't need to answer that question, you just need to review! I know you're not blind, if you were you wouldn't be reading this, so just click the button below this paragraph and post ANYTHING! Your favorite soda, state, fast food restraint, football team, but preferably what you think of what I've written so far. So come on, why are you still reading? Review! (Please)**

**REVIEW BUTTON IS**

**HERE**

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	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note: I'm so sorry that this isn't a chapter. I just wanted to let you all know that it's going to take me a little longer than I was planning to get up my next chapter. The due date of the story I was working on in my elective writing class got moved up to Thursday, and I also have three science fair things due next week, along with seven tests. Normally, grades come easy for me and I get all A's except for a B in science, but this year things are harder-like they should be since this is a different grade-and I really need all A's this semester, because if I get a 4.0 GPA for this semester, I get a laptop. So, again, I'm so sorry that I have to delay giving you Chapter Five, but I promise that I won't stop writing this story until it's finished. Also, in a few chapters I'm going to have the prophecy in it and I'll probably be needing ideas for what to put in it once I get there.**

**Sincerely,**

**~~~~~Charla~~~~~**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I still don't own TUC.**

**Author's Note: And here is the fifth chapter! Thanks for reading, reviewing, and for giving me tips on how I can improve my writing. Also thanks to those of you who have subscribed to my stories and/or me-and favorited them. And, I am so sorry about the extra long wait! I told all of y'all why this had to be delayed, and I got sick the day after I posted that author's note. Anywho, I'll stop blabbing and move onto the chapter. ****Profitez de mon petit Sous la Terre Chroniques lecteurs! (For those of you who don't know French that's a rough translation for 'Enjoy my little Underland Chronicles fans!') Oh and also, in reply to a comment I got recently; yes, Luxa has been wearing jeans, hoodies, shades, scarves and hats. Also, since its New York City in winter, there have been lots of clouds around, so she hasn't been standing in direct sunlight, which is part of why her skin hasn't been burned-the other part is because of the sun being farther away from the earth due to it being winter. And, being NYC, her violet eyes pass as contacts. I hope that that clears things up!**

Chapter 5

"Hey, Gregor!" Larry shouted, waving Gregor and Luxa over to him and Angelina where they were buying popcorn.

Gregor and Luxa walked over with their tickets. "So, Vampire's Suck, right?" Gregor asked waving two tickets in the air.

"Yep, and it's my turn to pay for the food, so what do you guys want?" Angelina said.

"I'll have a small popcorn, coke, and snow caps," Larry chimed in.

Angelina rolled her eyes saying, "You always order that."

"Well, we're going to Prince's afterwards, so two root beers and Luxa and I'll split a small popcorn?" Gregor said, looking to Luxa for confirmation.

"Sure," she replied.

"Alrighty then," Angelina then said turning to the cashier, "We'll have three small popcorns, two cokes, two root beers, one snow caps, and one pack of M&Ms."

"That'll be seventeen dollars," the cashier said, looking curiously at the strangely pale, violet eyed girl.

Angelina fished through her purse, and then triumphantly pulled out a twenty. "Here you go."

"Thank you, enjoy your movie," the cashier said as he handed Angelina her change. "Here's your stuff."

"'Kay" Angelina then turned to her friends and handed out the food accordingly. "Come on, we want good seats."

"Oh, good, the commercials are still playing," Larry muttered as they all sat down in the middle of the theatre.

A few commercials later, and Vampire's Suck began.

"Uh, Gregor?" Luxa asked twenty-some minutes later, "Do you know what's happening?"

"Kind of, I never got into Twilight-it's a book slash movie series, or 'saga' that lots of people like to read, and lots of people don't like it and this is the movie they made to make fun of it."

Luxa turned to him and said, "That makes no sense."

Gregor shrugged, and Luxa sighed as she leaned against him.

"Gregor," Luxa whispered, shaking him.

"Huh? What?" Gregor sputtered as he sat up.

Luxa smirked and said, "I think the movies over-you fell asleep.

"Oh," Gregor blushed, and added, "Yeah, these are the credits-they say who played who, and all the people who wrote and made the movie."

Luxa rolled her eyes and said, "That makes _a ton _of sense."

"C'mon guys," Larry said as he stood up, "Let's head on to Prince's."

"I'm going to have to eat quickly, so that I can get to my ballet class in time," Angelina said as she looked at her watch while they walked out the doors.

They ran across the slush covered street and walked hurriedly into Prince's.

"Why hello, Gregor! How you doin', Hon?" a middle-aged woman named Marnie greeted Gregor from the counter.

Gregor smiled as he said, "I'm doing great, Marnie."

"That's good, and how's Mrs. Cormaci?" Marnie asked as she set down the plate she'd been drying off.

"She's doing good too," then, remembering his friends, Gregor asked, "Can we have a table?"

She waved them over to the counter, and asked, "What can I get for you, kids?"

"I'll have a hamburger with just lettuce and mustard, small french-fries, and a medium chocolate malt, please," Angelina said.

Larry scanned his menu quickly before ordering, "Uh…I'll have a bowl of chili, a baked potato, and a cookie dough shake." Then as an after thought, he tacked on, "Please."

"Okydokey," Marnie said while she scribbled the orders on her notepad.

"I'll have a cheeseburger with just tomato, small fries, and a butterscotch malt, please," Gregor said politely.

"I'll have the same," Luxa said.

"I'll have your food ready in a couple of minutes," Marnie said as she disappeared into the kitchen.

"So, how do you know her?" Larry asked.

"She's a friend of my neighbor Mrs. Cormaci," Gregor said. "I work for Mrs. Cormaci on Saturdays, so I know some of her friends."

"Oh," Larry said.

"So what did you guys think of the movie?" Angelina asked.

Larry smiled as he said, "I thought it was hilarious! Remember the 'Are you a natural red head?' part? That was so funny!"

"I liked the 'it's raining men' part. You know, when the Chihuahuas were doing their dance," Angelina said excitedly. "What did you guys think?"

"Yeah," Gregor said, "It was definitely funny. Good pick, Angelina. The Black Eyed Peas part was good."

Angelina nodded energetically and turned to Luxa. "Did you like the movie, Luxa?"

"I thought it was okay," Luxa shrugged dismissively.

Angelina was about to protest, but then Marnie came out with their food saying as she placed it down, "Okay, now Gregor you had a cheeseburger, and same with you, dear, along with fries and butterscotch malts. Now, you son, had the chili, fries, and chocolate malt."

"No," Larry said, "I had the cookie dough malt, Angelina gets the chocolate malt."

"Oh, I'm sorry! My minds just not the same as it used to be," Marnie smiled apologetically. "Now, this is your food, dearie."

"Thank you," Angelina smiled.

"Now, you just call me if you need anything, okay?" she said as she walked over to a couple that had just walked in.

"'Kay."

"Okay, Marnie, I'll tell her 'hi' for you," Gregor said while he, Luxa, Angelina, and Larry walked out of Prince's together.

"Well, this was fun," Larry said as they looked for a cab to hail.

"Yeah, we should do it again sometime," Gregor said as a cab pulled up in front of them.

They all climbed into the cab with Angelina in the front. They'd had their food and laughed and talked and were now ready to go home.

"What's the address?" The driver asked.

"We live at the Dilworth Apartments on 32nd Street," Gregor called to the driver.

"And I can walk to my house from there," Larry said.

They heard Angelina tell the driver her address and they then sped away.

"See you guys in school," Angelina called as she got out of the cab.

They waved to her as she walked into her house, and then sped off to Gregor's apartment.

"Dilworth Apartments, right?" The cab driver asked.

"Yeah," Gregor said, "Oh, wait I forgot to call my parents."

Larry nodded and said, "That's fine."

"Hello?" Gregor's mom answered, distressed.

"Hey, Mom. It's me, Gregor," Gregor said into his phone, "Sorry that I forgot to call earlier, but right now I'm on my way home."

"Good. We'll talk to you then," his mom replied in a hard, taut voice.

"Uh, okay?" Gregor said, but, all he heard was the line go dead.

"Everything okay?" Luxa asked as Gregor he put the phone in his pocket.

"I have no idea," he said puzzled.

"Okay, we're here," the driver grunted as they pulled up in front of Gregor's apartment.

They said their goodbyes to Larry as they got out of the cab, and then started into the apartment complex.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Luxa," Gregor said, kissing her when he walked her to Mrs. Cormaci's apartment.

"Good night, Gregor," Luxa smiled as she walked in.

Gregor was still grinning when he walked into his own apartment, where he was met by glares from his parents and a miserable, though slightly elated Lizzie.

"So," Gregor's mom began icily, "when were you planning on telling us that you're hiding Luxa here in New York City."

"What?" Gregor asked in disbelief as his skin turned ashen instantly.

Gregor grew even more astounded, when Ripred himself stepped out from behind his parents saying, "Don't even try it, Warrior. We all know Luxa's here."

**Author's Note: Okay, again I'm so sorry that I didn't get this updated sooner. I kind of rushed the ending there. I really am going to start needing suggestions for what's going to happen next, though I do have some ideas. Also, thanks for reading and-to those of you who have done so and for those of you who will *hint, hint*-review. Please review/pm me and tell me what you liked, didn't liked, think can/should be improved, your suggestions, or how you spell gray/grey/greigh. Reviews are like double mochas with shots of espresso and extra whipped cream; I **_**love**_** them! So please review! And question of the chapter; it's on my profile (it's the poll) so go there to answer it. Again, thank you for your patience and for reading my fanfic-and, of course, many thanks to Suzanne Collins for writing TUC.**

**~~~~~Charla~~~~~**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I'm still not the proud, rich owner of TUC. I only own this plot and the characters I make up.**

**Author's Note: Here is the sixth chapter! This came pretty fast (and long, so you're welcome) for me. There wasn't much of a wait this time thanfully. Thanks for all of your reviews, tips, and suggestions! And thank you as well to those of you who've subscribed/favorited this/me. I appreciate both. Thanks for reading everyone and also thanks to the three people who voted on my pole about your favorite TUC characters (by the way it's still up and open on my profile, so plz vote!). Okay, here's the chapter;**

Chapter 6

"Gregor, why is Luxa here?" Gregor's mom asked angrily.

It was then, when Gregor noticed a scowling Howard flanking his mom's right side. _Uh, oh,_ he thought as he remembered the lecture Howard had given him when he and Luxa had first started falling for each other. The fact that Gregor was hiding Luxa in the Overland and the fact that they weren't chaperoned probably had Howard upset-to put it mildly.

"Uh, hey Ripred…Howard. What's up?" Gregor asked nervously.

"Nothing much," Howard replied coolly, "Only that my cousin, the queen of Regalia is missing and-as it would appear-she has come to the Overland unprotected and one would wonder, why?"

"Well," Gregor began, clasping his hands together in front of him nervously. "Luxa, uh, thought that it…would be, um, enlightening and beneficial if she were to come to the Overland and see what it's like first so that she could go back to all of you and tell you what she had…discovered so that you could expand your knowledge in various forms of production and such." Gregor thought that he had come up with a pretty good explanation so quickly.

Ripred just snorted and said, "Well, then what 'enlightening' things has Luxa learned to report back to us?"

Howard raised an eyebrow, while Gregor's mom crossed her arms and seemed to glare even harder at her son, and Lizzie buried her face in her hands.

Inspiration struck Gregor and he had an idea that just might work. "She learned about how Overland people travel, and how we're educated. She also experienced a few Overland foods."

"Then why don't we check this with Luxa? And, by the way, where might she be?" Howard asked, still formal and cool.

"Uh," Gregor panicked, but seeing that there was nothing he could do, he reluctantly beckoned them to all follow him. He opened the door and made his way to Mrs. Cormaci's apartment. Luckily, no one was out in the hallways, so they didn't see Ripred's abnormally sized rodent form, or Howard, who was dressed in the usual Underland attire.

Gregor silently opened Mrs. Cormaci's apartment door, and they all walked in. They saw Luxa sitting at the table with her purple hoodie clad back turned toward them drinking hot cocoa and talking with Mrs. Cormaci.

Mrs. Cormaci's, who was facing them, eyes widened when she took in Ripred and Howard. "Oh, my" was all she said, and Luxa turned around to see what she was looking at.

"Sorry" Gregor mouthed to her.

She nodded and said, "Greetings, Howard, Ripred. How goes Regalia?"

"Panicked due to your absence," Howard answered still using the cool, detached, formal tone he'd been using with Gregor.

"Well, I had to come. Gregor invited me," Luxa said indifferently.

Gregor hit his forehead with his hand and groaned.

Ripred burst out laughing and-still snickering-said, "So, Your Majesty wasn't here to 'enlighten' herself and the rest of Regalia on the ways of the Overland? Then why were you here?"

Luxa and Gregor's faces both turned bright red, and Howard said through clenched teeth, "I want the truth, and I want it now."

"And," Gregor's mom added, "Gregor, you're grounded."

Gregor wasn't surprised, so he didn't react. Luxa looked at him, her eyes asking him what they should say.

Gregor shook his head and shrugged, he certainly didn't have any more cover stories.

"Why don't we all sit down in the living room," Gregor's dad said after no one said anything.

"Good idea," Mrs. Cormaci said standing up from the chair at the table, "You can all talk this out, and I'll step out for some groceries."  
She exited the apartment hurriedly, while Gregor, Luxa, and Lizzie all sat down on the sofa in the living room. Ripred plopped down on the thick mattress that had been set up for Luxa to use, Howard sat in a plush flower patterned chair across from the three guilty humans, and Gregor's mom in the matching chair by Howard's.

"Honey, why don't you go back to our apartment and watch Boots in case she wakes up," Gregor's mom said, not taking her steely gaze off of Gregor for a second.

Gregor's dad nodded and retreated out of the room, shooting a sympathetic and apologetic look at his kids and Luxa.

"Gregor, what have you and Luxa been doing since she got here?" Gregor's mom asked sharply.

"We've been going to school, going out for pizza, and dinner. Uh, we saw a movie and ate at Prince's with Angelina and Larry today. We've also been in Central Park," Gregor said, omitting the fight that Luxa had gotten into along with the kissing.

Ripred closed his eyes and inhaled deeply and turned to Gregor and asked him suspiciously, "What are you not telling us, Overlander? I can smell there's something."

"Nothing," Gregor said widening his eyes feign innocence.

"We picked Lizzie up from her school and dropped her off, but that's all," Luxa supplied, though Gregor suspected that she knew what he wasn't telling.

No one looked convinced, though.

"Luxa, if you don't tell us, then we'll have you locked up in the dungeon," Ripred threatened menacingly.

Luxa just turned his chin up defiantly, but Gregor remembered what it had been like in there and wouldn't let Luxa go through that, so he said, "Fine. What happened is that, well, I heard that we had a new student at our school, but I didn't see her-who happened to be Luxa-until school was over and everyone was chanting 'fight, fight, fight'. I usually break fights up, so I made my way to the center and saw that it was Luca and Raul who were fighting. Luxa had been doing good, because she's Luxa and so Raul had his two gang banger buddies pin her down, so I punched him out and got a cab and Luxa and I went to Central Park."

"See, Luxa!" Howard bellowed, "The Overland is dangerous! Even the humans fight each other!"

"There's not much else we can fight," Gregor muttered dryly.

Howard just glared at him.

Luxa rolled her eyes and said, "Howard, these people are hardly competent fighters. I easily could've taken those boys out, but I look suspicious enough already." She heard Howard mutter something along the lines of 'sure they're incompetent when people like Gregor live among them'.

Gregor's mouth dropped open in astonishment at what Howard had said. Howard was always really kind, but now he was acting all mean, rude, and superior.

Luxa whispered in a voice low enough, so that Howard couldn't hear, "It's only because he is angry with me loving you." Luxa then raised an eyebrow and ask through gritted teeth, "Are you doubting me, cousin?" She was upset at his comment as well.

"Yes, Luxa, I am and I have every reason to distrust you. You lied and came sneaking up here and have been lying through your teeth the whole time," Howard retorted.

"She's right on that fact, though, most New York City boys really can't fight that well, even those who've taken karate or judo. Raul is just big, which is the only reason for why he is feared and fights," Gregor defended.

Ripred nodded and said, "The boy's right."

Howard pinched the bridge of his nose, closed his eyes and said in a strained voice, "That still doesn't change the fact that you came to the Overland, Luxa, without alerting or asking the permission of the council."

The council made the majority of the decisions for the Underland people and had control over Luxa until she became sixteen and could take full power of Regalia. Luxa hated following orders, and had probably heard the speech on more than one occasion, since she'd broken the rules frequently, and Gregor had, too.

"Look," Gregor spoke up. "Yeah, she disobeyed the council. This isn't the first time, and it's probably not going to be the last, and maybe she could've left and given Aurora instructions to pass on about who should rule in her stay and say she was safe and would be back, but—" Gregor had to get it out. It just wasn't fair. Luxa had so much stress in her life, and she deserved to have a break now and then. "—come on! She _never_ gets a break, and you guys are always saying that she's not old enough to take on the full responsibility, or whatever, so doesn't that even prove that she should get a break?"

"Maybe she could use a break, but not in the Overland," Howard replied, opening his eyes and taking a deep breath.

"Ugh!" Luxa said in exasperation, "I'm still here, and I think that if I can battle gnawers and fight in a war and make it out alive that I can survive the Overland!"

"I'll tell you what," Ripred said, smiling lazily from the floor, "as much as I've loved watching this little drama unfold why don't we put it up to the council, hmm?"

"Good," Gregor's mom nodded from her chair where she sat rigidly gripping the chair's arms as she stared her children and Luxa down. "You can take your queen home and stay out of our lives. Rest assured, Gregor will definitely be punished accordingly—if not more—and I trust that she'll be as well."

Ripred grinned even more as he turned his black beady eyes on Gregor's mom and said in a sing song voice, "Grace, I have no doubt that you are capable of giving Gregor a marvelous penalty, but the  
Regalian council will have to decide both his and Luxa's chastisement."

Gregor's mom sprang up in alarm and shrieked waving her arms around wildly, "No! No, no, no, no, no! You are never taking my baby down there again! None of us are stepping foot in your hell-hole of a country, or whatever you call it, again!"

Luxa whispered to Gregor, "Looks like your mother's off her rocker." She had obviously been learning a couple of Overland phrases in her past few days in the Big Apple.

"You should've seen her when Ripred sent us an escort to get us to Regalia to find the cure for the plague," Gregor whispered back as his mom yelled more insults at Ripred about the Underland.

Howard, seeing Gregor and Luxa whisper to each other, yanked Lizzie up by the elbow and shoved Gregor into Lizzie's spot by the shoulder and said, "Lizzie, we're going to put you in the middle."

Lizzie just nodded and quietly said with wide eyes to no one in particular, "I get to see Ripred again! We're going back to the Underland!"

"Well, whatever you may think or want, Grace, the Warrior is coming back with us to Regalia and is going to be before the council as they decide his penalty—and don't worry, Luxa, your boy's not going to be the only one in trouble," Ripred said with a smirk.

"Her _what!_" Gregor's mom squawked.

"And, we'd be coming to retrieve him soon anyways," Ripred continued, grooming his fur absentmindedly, as if what he was about to say was as inconsequential as what he'd be eating for dinner, "what with the new—or should I say old—prophecy."

"GREGOR IS _NOT_ GOING BACK TO THE UNDERLAND EVER AGAIN! WE'RE DONE WITH YOUR STUPID PROPHECIES AND I DON'T CARE IF YOU ALL DIE, HE IS NEVER EVER, EVER GOING BACK DOWN THERE AGAIN!" Gregor's mom screamed as she picked up a picture frame and flung it at Ripred who was still lounging on the mattress.

Ripred was up in an instant with the photo held neatly in his tail. Everyone's attention was on Lizzie and Gregor's mom as Ripred walked over to her and sighed, "Well, Grace, it's obvious that you're not going to cooperate, so you leave me no choice."

And with that, he hit her on the head with the frame and she slumped down to the floor before she had any time to react.

**Author's Note: Surprise! It's a double chapter special! And I'd just like to say that one reason for this is because of the chapter I posted that was an A/N and also because I'm in a good mood because it's Halloween tomorrow-well when this is posted it probably wont be…October 30, 2010, but it is now, so HAPPY HALLOWEEN! (BTW I'm being a bumble bee, so put what your being for parties and—if you still do it—trick-or-treating in your ****review****) Okay, well enjoy this double chapter special! ~~Charla~~**

Chapter 7

"Mom?" Gregor said frantically as he sprang over to his mom's crumpled body. He sighed in relief as he saw the rise and fall of her chest. Her short brown hair was ruffled and somewhat splayed around her face.

After feeling relieved that his mom wasn't dead, Gregor turned around and went up to the rat and said, "What was that for!"

"We're taking you back to the Underland, and she was obviously unwilling to let that happen," Ripred shrugged nonchalantly.

"Is she okay?" Lizzie asked in a tremulous voice as she wrung her hands in worry, craning her neck to see over Gregor who was still kneeling by their mom.

"Its okay, Lizzie," Ripred soothed, walking over to her and placing his paw on her shoulder. "I only knocked her out. You do want to come back to the Underland, don't you?"

Lizzie sniffled and nodded. She then slowly smiled and wrapped her arms around Ripred's neck in an embrace and said, "I've missed you so much, Ripred!"

"I've missed you, too, Lizzie," Ripred smiled back.

Howard joined Gregor by his mom, and after a brief examination said, "She'll most likely have a head ache when she awakens, but other than that, she'll be just fine."

Luxa got up from the couch and walked over to Gregor and gave him an encouraging squeeze on the shoulder saying, "Well, it looks like you'll be coming back to the Underland after all."

"Yeah," Gregor agreed, turning his head toward Luxa with a ridiculous smile plastered on his face.

"Break it up, pups," Ripred barked, "We've got to get going before your hysterical mother wakes up."

After moving Gregor's mom onto the sofa as Howard had instructed, everyone stood up and walked to Mrs. Cormaci's front door. They silently walked to the elevator; Lizzie on Ripred's back, and Luxa and Gregor walking side by side with their hands intertwined, while Howard stalked behind them glaring disapprovingly.

"Wait," Gregor called to Ripred as he was about to push the button. "We can't take the elevator, there are cameras in it, and we should take Boots with us."

"Not your annoying little sister again!" Ripred groaned smacking his face.

"Boots would want to see Temp again," Lizzie said softly, "And she might be needed for the prophecy."

"I doubt we'll need her, but fine we can take her," Ripred grumbled, "And if she sings a single song, then I will bite off her hand."

They walked up the stairs to Gregor's apartment and Gregor them all to wait for him in the laundry room. Gregor quietly tiptoed into the foyer, and then the living room. He peeked his head into the kitchen and saw his dad making tea over the stove burner, so he scurried to the hallway and into his sisters' room. Gregor crept over to his sister's crib and saw that she was sound asleep.

"Okay, I've got to be quick," he whispered to himself as he picked Boots up. He grabbed her coloring book with one hand and placed it in Boots' crib, and scrawled on a blank page with a blue crayon;

_Dear Mom and Dad,_

_Lizzie, Boots, and I are going back._

_Don't worry we'll be fine. I'll take good care of Boots and Lizzie and we all have friends that'll look out for us. I'm sorry that Ripred knocked you out, Mom, but I have to go, and I want to. I love you, we all do! Please don't worry!_

_-XOXO Gregor_

He left the note on Boots's crib and sprinted back into the hallway. He was about to step into the living room, but he saw his dad headed for where he and Boots were just in time. He quickly ran into his room and crouched down by the bed.

"Boots?" he heard his dad call worriedly from her and Lizzie's room. Then, a few moments later—after his dad had most likely read Gregor's note—he heard his dad frantically cry, "Grace!"

He waited until he heard the front door slam, indicating that his dad had left the apartment and then Gregor himself bolted for it.

Guilt pulsed through Gregor as he saw his dad jump into the elevator. He himself raced down the stairs to the laundry room where he found Howard and Luxa in the middle of a heated argument. They all looked up at him when he noisily entered and he yelled, "Hurry! Open that grate! We've got to get moving _now!_"

Howard helped him and Luxa push the grate aside and the black and white striped face of Howard's bat, Nike, met them.

"Okay," Gregor began. "Nike, are you the only flier here?"

"No," she purred smiling, "Aurora and Euripides are here as well."

"I'll ride on Aurora with Gregor, and Boots, Ripred; you shall ride on Euripides, and Howard on Nike with Lizzie."

"Perhaps Gregor should ride with me," Howard offered, "and Lizzie with Aurora. That way you won't have to strain yourself, Aurora."

"I can manage quite well, thank you," Aurora purred.

They were all silent for a moment. Ripred looking bored while Lizzie just anxious and nervous. Boots was beginning to stir in Gregor's arms, and Luxa was looking like she was about to lose her temper. Howard didn't want Gregor and Luxa to be together and wasn't keeping it a secret with his unsubtle transactions.

"Let's stick with Luxa's idea. She and Gregor will be kept apart as soon as we reach the High Hall," Ripred said as he lifted Lizzie off of his back and set her down on the linoleum tiled floor.

With that, Howard grabbed Lizzie into his arms and they both dropped onto Nike, whith Howard muttering, "Fine, Ripred."

"Euripides," Ripred called to the flier that was bonded to Vikus, the head of the Regalian council and Luxa's grandfather, "here I come." And with that he jumped into the darkness below. Euripides caught Ripred in his claws, and followed Nike down the spiraling tunnel.

At that moment, Boots awoke and seeing Luxa said, "Hi, you!"

"Hello, Boots. Would you like to ride on Aurora back to the palace and see Temp?" Luxa asked, smiling.

"Ye-es! We see Temp!" Boots exclaimed emphatically as she squirmed out of Gregor's arms and dropped into the darkness below.

"Wee!" she squealed as she fell through the darkness and was then caught by Aurora.

Gregor motioned for Luxa to go and she dropped down with Gregor following at her heels.

Gregor sighed inwardly when Aurora caught them and remembered his own bond, Ares, who had been brutally murdered by the Bane on his most recent visit. He stroked Aurora's soft golden fur, although he could not see it due to the ever present darkness in the Underland, and heard Boots chattering away to Luxa who was seated in front of him and holding his sister.

"We all miss Ares," he heard Aurora say softly, "but none of us miss him as greatly as you do, Overlander, and I am sorry that he is lost."

"Thanks, Aurora," he murmured back. He and Aurora didn't talk much, but in that moment he felt a special connection to her and was grateful.

"We brought his body back, and he has been buried," Luxa whispered, leaning against Gregor.

"Mm," Gregor murmured as he let his mind drift to memories of his dead bond and the gruesome moments when the Bane had grabbed Ares and ripped his throat out with his teeth.

"Too dark, Gregor! Too dark!" Boots complained. Gregor hadn't had time to grab a flashlight, so there was no source of light.

"I'm sorry, Boots. I don't have any light. We'll be to Regalia soon," Gregor said, his mind still in another time.

The rest of the ride was silent until they saw Regalia come into view.

Luxa spoke up first, "When we land in the High Hall it is most likely that we shall be separated, so we need a plan for meeting."

"I think you're right. I'd say we should meet at the spout, but Solovet probably had it secured before she…you know."

Solovet had died at the hands of the gnawers during the War of Time and was Luxa's grandmother. Gregor hadn't liked her since she'd been behind the making of the plague that had made his mom, Ares, and Howard sick and had nearly killed them. Solovet had also wanted to keep Gregor's family hostage so that he would never leave, and had locked him up in the dungeon for days without light and little food and water.

"Yes, the spout is not an option. I was thinking that we could meet at Ares' cave. Aurora could fly me there and do you have any idea on how you could get there?" Luxa asked.

"If you could talk to Mareth, then maybe Andromeda could take me to meet you," Gregor suggested.

"We'll see," Luxa replied, "but be ready. I may send her at any time."

Gregor nodded and as some guards on their fliers, the Underland term for bat, flew up to escort them to the palace he whispered, "Well, I think this would be a good time to say goodbye for now, m'dear."

"I'll see you at our trial," she laughed as she twisted around to give Gregor a quick kiss on the cheek, and then as Aurora flew above High Hall Luxa handed Boots to Gregor and did one of her fancy twisty flips and landed perfectly on her feet.

Gregor smiled as Aurora began to land. "I'll see you later, Aurora. Fly you high."

"Fly you high, Gregor, and good luck in the trial," Aurora purred as Gregor hopped off of her back and was immediately surrounded by guards that were saying various things to him. He caught Luxa's eye and saw that she, too, was being swarmed by guards. Howard, he saw was talking to a woman who Gregor thought he remembered seeing on the council. Euripides was conversing with Nike, and he saw no sign of Ripred or Lizzie.

"If you don't mind my asking, where are you taking me?" Gregor asked one of the guards who began marching him down a corridor.

"Vikus has given orders for you to be brought to a chamber under guard. He will meet with you presently," the man grunted.

"Okay, and can someone fetch Dulcet? Boots won't want to be cooped up all night with me, since I'll be talking to Vikus," Gregor said, nodding at the squirming toddler in his arms. He didn't feel ashamed that he'd been 'hiding' Luxa in New York City. Nothing bad had happened and she'd been having a good time. He thought that it was ludicrous that they were being put on trial for it.

"Fine," the guard snapped and then told one of the many other guards who were still surrounding Gregor to go do so. Gregor decided then that he was being a bit haughty and decided to stop.

"Here is your chamber, Overlander. Dulcet will be here soon to take your sister and Vikus shall see you when he's ready," the same guard said brusquely as they arrived at a room in a secluded part of the palace that was—no doubt—far away from Luxa's quarters.

Gregor nodded and stepped into the room. As soon as he had crossed the threshold, a heavy red velvet curtain was yanked shut. He set Boots down on the smooth stone floor and she toddled around the room and investigated it. The room had stone floor, walls, and ceiling, and had two good sized beds with matching red spreads up against the wall facing the 'door'. There was a nightstand made of a strange brown colored stone that stood in between the two beds with a lit oil lamp sitting on its surface. Torches were held in sconces; two on each wall providing a substantial amount of light for the room that, of course, had no window. There was also a circular table with two chairs on the right side of the room. The only other piece of furniture in the room was what appeared to be a stone dresser that was against the wall on the left side of the room. Gregor walked over to it and opened the top drawer and found that it was filled with Underland shirts. The next drawer down was filled with Underland pants, the third with pajamas, and the last with the Underland version of socks and undergarments. He found two pairs of shoes by the side of the dresser; one casual and one that looked formal. The only problem was that there weren't any clothes for Boots or Lizzie.

At that moment, Dulcet—the young nanny who often tended to Boots during Gregor's visits and who had spent a lot of her time aiding the nibbler pups during his most recent visits—came into the room and greeted, "Hello, Boots! We have missed you."

Boots ran into Dulcet's arms and said, "Hi, you! Hi Dul-cee! We see mouse babies?"

Dulcet looked to Gregor for the answer. "She should be getting to sleep soon. She woke up on the way here, but you can show her the nibbler pups quickly if they're still here," Gregor conceded.

She nodded and scooped Boots up and turned for the door, but Gregor stopped her saying, "It's great to see you again, Dulcet."

She turned around smiling and said, "Great to see you as well, Gregor, and I shall be brief in showing her the pups."

With that she left the room and Gregor was once again alone. He went over to the table to sit at while he waited for Vikus. _I wonder how he's doing,_ Gregor thought to himself. The last time Gregor had seen Vikus had been just before he had left Regalia, and Vikus had been recovering from a stroke that had affected half of his body, and he'd been unable to speak.

"Greetings, Gregor. It is good to see you again," Vikus said as he entered the room with a wooden cane.

"You, too, Vikus," Gregor said, clapping him on the shoulder once Vikus had reached the table.

Vikus smile somewhat lopsidedly and asked, "Tell me, how is your family faring?"

"My mom returned to her job as a waitress and dentist assistant, and my dad still has relapses sometimes, so he works around the apartment. Mrs. Cormaci helps us out a lot, but my grandma died the day Luxa turned up," Gregor said as they sat in the stone chairs.

"I am sorry for your loss, Gregor," Vikus said. Gregor just looked at the table and shrugged, so Vikus continued, "I take it that your mother wasn't too difficult about your returning here."

Gregor met Vikus' eyes and replied, "She was completely against it, but then Ripred knocked her out."

Vikus gasped and said, "I assure you, Gregor, he was not permitted to do such a thing and he will be reprimanded."

"Its fine, Vikus. She'll be okay, and it was probably the only way," Gregor said, waving his hand.

"Never the less, he will be dealt with. And, how are your scars?"

"The ones on my chest still ache from time to time, but they're a part of me now, and they won't go away," Gregor replied.

"I believe you are right, Gregor," Vikus sighed. "We all received wounds and have lost many people dear to us. I wish that I could change many of the things that have happened, and I know you wish it as well, but we can't. The pain will never get better and we'll live with it for the rest of our lives. They make us who we are, Gregor, our scars. We bare them and will hold our loved ones forever in our hearts. Even Boots and Lizzie have been marked by the war."

Gregor nodded numbly and they were silent for a few minutes. Vikus had lost his wife and others; Gregor his bond and, like Vikus, many others as well.

"So," Gregor started minutes later, "are you mad at me, too…for 'hiding' Luxa?"

Vikus shook his head, "Not at all. I know you, Gregor, and Luxa as well. You're responsible and would never do anything bad. You would've protected Luxa if any harm had come to her."

Gregor blushed slightly.

"Besides, Luxa really did need a break. I would've offered her one myself, but I knew she would've been too proud to take it. I'm glad that she did get one," Vikus explained.

"So we don't have to be put on trial?" Gregor asked hesitantly.

"You're still going on trial," Vikus laughed. "I don't think that you deserve to be punished so much as Luxa, however. She did leave the country without leaving a note for who should be regent in her stay. You may be penalized at home, though, assuming that you didn't tell your mother of Luxa's presence."

"But if you don't think I should be put on trial, then why am I?" Gregor asked, confused.

"If I tell the council that you don't deserve to be put on trial and then given a sentence, then they'll kick me out of my position saying that the stroke I had affected my thinking. Do you understand, Gregor?"

"Yeah," Gregor said, "but your council sure does do some crazy things."

"Yes, they can jump to extremes, but generally, our decisions have good results," Vikus replied standing up. "I believe that I should go now. I have to prepare things for your trial."

"Oh, wait, Vikus," Gregor said. "I noticed that there are only clothes for me in the dresser, so what about Lizzie and Boots? By the way, where is Lizzie, and will Boots be brought back tonight?" Questions poured out of Gregor's mouth.

"I'll have another dresser brought in for Lizzie and Boots tomorrow, and Lizzie is sleeping in Ripred's room tonight. She was a bit frightened from riding on Nike and apparently Howard said some things that left her feeling anxious. I'll have Dulcet bring Boots in. Now get some sleep, Gregor. I'll awaken you an hour before the trial, so you can bathe, eat, and ready yourself," Vikus replied patiently.

Gregor was almost done. "Just one more question Vikus. What about the prophecy?"

Vikus rubbed his forehead, saying, "Gregor, we shall discuss the prophecy later. Good night."

"'Night, Vikus," Gregor sighed as Vikus walked out of the room, leaving him alone once again.

Gregor changed into one of the silky sets of the Underland PJ's, and blew out the torches leaving just the oil lamp on. He then took the picture of him and Luxa out of the pocket of the dark green hoodie that he'd been wearing and placed it gently on the nightstand. He stuffed his Overland clothes under his mattress and waited for Dulcet to bring Boots back.

"Good night, sweet Boots," Dulcet whispered bringing her in about seven minutes later, "pleasant dreams."

"Night-night, Dul-cee!" Boots said with a yawn, "Don't let the bed bugs bite!"

Dulcet's eyes widened slightly in alarm, but she handed Boots over to Gregor, who was sitting on the bed on the left side of the room. "Here she is, Gregor. Many thanks for returning and sleep well."

"Thanks for watching her, Dulcet. Sleep well," Gregor replied giving her a half smile.

She nodded and retreated from the room.

"Okay, little girl," Gregor said to Boots who was already dressed for bed—courtesy of Dulcet—as he pulled back the covers, "time for a little shut eye."

"We shut eyes," Boots muttered sleepily, curling up against Gregor.

Gregor reached over to the oil lamp and blew it out casting them into darkness. He then drifted off to sleep like Boots, and slept better than he ever had over the past two months.

**Author's Note: Thanks for reading these two chapters! Please review, your reviews make my day and I promise to PM you back-if you have an account and aren't anonymous. Reviews are like my dog; they always make me happy! So, please, please, please review! Also, my poll is still up on my profile, you can answer that as well if you'd like! Now, question of the chapter; (I'm still in the Halloween mood) What's your favorite type of chocolate candy? Also, it may take me a while to get the next chapter written and posted, because of some stress that's going on right now, but I shall get it up before the 22nd for sure! Hopefullyand most likely it'll be way sooner than that! ~~~~~Charla~~~~~**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: Y no tengo el Submundo Crónicas. Since this is the disclaimer, you can probably figure out what that means otherwise copy and past it into the Google translator—I don't own that either by the way. Oh, also, I don't know that much Spanish or French even though I've been taking the Spanish at my school since kindergarten.**

**Author's Note: Happy Thanksgiving! Here is Chapter 8! Thans for reading/reviewing/subscribing/favoriting it means alot to me! Okay, so here's the chapter;**

Chapter 8

Gregor awoke the next morning to Lizzie shaking him and saying, "Ripred told me to get you up, because you have a trial to go to."—Gregor could detect worry in her tone—"Are you in trouble? Will you be alright? Did you do anything wrong? What's your punishment going to be?"

She began to hyperventilate, so Gregor put his hand on her shoulder, and said in a soothing voice, "It's all going to be fine, Liz. Some of the Regalians are just upset that Luxa was in New York City and they blame me. If I get punished, it can't be too bad. After all, I have some prophecy to fulfill."

Lizzie quickly calmed down and her breathing returned to normal. Lizzie held a tiny oil lamp in her hand that provided a surprisingly large amount of light. She was sitting down on the bed now and Boots was curled up by Gregor.

"I ran into Vikus on the way here, and he asked me to rouse you and bring you that food," she said nodding to the table where some a few loaves of bread, milk, and cheese were laid out in a wicker basket.

"This must be pretty important if Ripred _and_ Vikus both wanted me to get up early to prepare myself," Gregor thought out loud.

"You're _sure_ you won't be in too much trouble," Lizzie asked again.

"Liz," Gregor said, "everything will be fine."

Lizzie nodded, so Gregor continued, "I'm gonna go to the baths and, you know, get ready now, so can you wake up Boots? I'm pretty sure she had a bath last night, so she just needs to change."

"Okay. You'd better hurry. Ripred said that if you're late that he'll bite your head off."

Gregor laughed, "Tell him we'll see."

Gregor then gathered up some Underland clothes and walked off to the baths. Two guards followed behind him and stood at the door when he entered the guy's room. It was like Horatio and Marcus all over again, and he still had plans of escape.

Gregor took off his pajamas and got into the flowing water of the stone bath. He quickly bathed and then hurriedly put on what he thought were formal Underland clothes and rushed back to his chamber with his 'entourage' in tow.

When he got back to the chamber, he found Boots and Lizzie each having a loaf of bread, a glass of milk and a hunk of cheese with all of the torches lit.

"Look Gregor!" Boots squealed. "I eat like Ripred." She took big bites of her bread and made 'ra, ra, ra' sounds as she chewed it, a wild child.

"You'd better slow down, Boots. You don't want a tummy ache," Gregor smiled.

"Boots looked at her stomach and said, "If my tummy hurt, I gets some apple juice?"

Gregor shook his head and said, "Not this time, kid"

Boots frowned and crossed her arms in a pout after shoving her bread and cheese away.

"Come on, Boots eat your breakfast," Lizzie pleaded. But when Boots shook her head, she picked up a bit of bread and moved it through the air saying, "I'm an air plane and I need somewhere to land."

Boots smiled and opened her mouth as wide as she could and Lizzie continued, "Oh, look there's a nice, dark cave I think I'll go on in there."

Boots closed her mouth over the bread and gobbled it up giggling as Gregor walked over to the table and started to eat his own food standing.

Things continued like that for fifteen minutes until the red curtain opened and Ripred came in.

"Good, you're ready. The trial will be starting in about ten minutes, so I'm here to brief you," Ripred said to Gregor, and then turning to Lizzie, "Lizzie, will you take your sister down to the nursery. That nanny's waiting for her and Temp will be coming later today. You can come to the trial if you'd like. I'll be in the stands and you can sit with me. If you need directions, then just ask one of the guards and tell them Ripred wants you there."

She nodded and led Boots away by the hand.

Gregor waited till his sister would be out of ear shot and asked, "What do you think will happen?"

"Honestly, I don't have much of an idea. If Luxa had snuck off and stayed with an Underlander, then you—or he I suppose—would be charged with kidnapping and be locked in the dungeon for a few years. But since you're the Warrior and we need you for the new prophecy, I think there's no telling what's to happen," Ripred said shaking his head as he leaned against the wall by the door.

"Has Luxa had her trial yet?" Gregor asked.

"No," Ripred replied, "I think they decided to have yours both at the same time so they could get it over with. Luxa, of course, doesn't have any veto power for your sentence."

Gregor nodded and changing the subject, he asked in a low voice, "What do you think we should say about the prophecy?"

"It doesn't make much sense," Ripred frowned. "It talks about another war—we always have those, though—and it talks about a bunch of other cryptic nonsense. Vikus doesn't want me to tell you the prophecy, but it doesn't say that you're going to die, but anything can happen down here." He shrugged at the last part.

"Thanks a lot, Ripred," Gregor said sarcastically as he finished up his cheese. "I thought that you all said that there weren't any more prophecies left for me to fulfill, though."

"Yeah, that's what we believed as well, but that mad girl, Nerissa, had a vision, or whatever, and saw that you could peel back some of the wood on the prophecy room door and take out a piece of wood with the prophecy on it. Luxa gave orders for part of the door to be pulled back, Vikus too, but the council insisted on reading over the old manuscripts to see if they could find anything to support Nerissa's claim. Sure enough, they found a scroll in the archives written by Sandwich himself mentioning it, so they pried the wood away and _tada _they found it. It didn't have a title, but Nerissa named it the Forgotten Prophecy and none of us rats really cared what it was called and the humans were all for it."

Gregor pondered this and said, "Can you meet me sometime later after Vikus shows it to me so we can figure something out?"

Ripred smiled wryly and said, "Are you doubting Sandwich, Warrior?"

"Whatever, Ripred, will you meet me, or not?" Gregor asked impatiently.

"I'd better, or else you'll mess everything up yourself by opening your mouth and suggesting something that'll get everyone killed. I'll meet you in the tunnels where we used to practice later. I'll have a guard tell you when."

Gregor ignored the jab at his incapability at figuring things out and just said, "Fine."

"Good. Now we'd better be getting to your trial," Ripred said, straightening up.

Gregor got up and followed Ripred out of the room. The guards posted at his door came to and while they walked through the corridors, more guards joined at the front, back, and sides. Gregor rolled his eyes and Ripred smirked.

Gregor noticed that there weren't any people standing around in the halls and thought it strange. In fact, he didn't see anymore Underlanders or any other creatures until they reached the curtain-door that led to the room where he, Ares, Howard, and Andromeda had been tried after they'd all returned from fulfilling the Prophecy of Bane. There were two guards there, and when they moved the heavy purple curtain aside, Gregor balked at the number of people in the stands. It looked like everyone in Regalia had attended, and a third of the flier population, along with about eighty or so rats.

"I need to talk to Vikus about this communication issue," Ripred muttered to himself. "This is not what I called being informed; some private trial."

"Do I go to the stand by Luxa?" Gregor asked Ripred, looking around the room where everyone was watching him and talking in hushed voices. They were being led across the room by the guards.

""If I were going to bet, I'd say you would be on the platform opposite of her," Ripred said in reply.

The room was about the size of the arena. On the right side of the wall, was what appeared to be a judge's stand with two stands with six people on each side about three feet lower connected to the judge's. Turned diagonally so they were facing both the judge and the audience in the stands several yards out from the judge's stand on both sides was two other raised platforms congruent to each other that were about twelve feet in area with no seats. On the one furthest from the door stood Luxa in a gown that looked formal like the one she'd worn to the treaty. Gregor ascertained that he was to stand on the one opposite of her and that the people flanking the judge were the jury. He then noticed a long table in front of the audience's stand with Vikus seated in the middle and realized that they were the council.

Gregor felt something tap his shoulder and turned to see Ripred's tail on his shoulder as the rat said, "Well, this is where I branch off. Good luck."

Gregor watched as Ripred scampered off and disappeared into the crowd of spectators. He walked to his stand and stood not quite as straight as Luxa, but as straight as he could get. There were some words exchanged among the jury and judge for a few minutes in which Gregor saw Lizzie enter the curtain and join Ripred in the stands. He looked around for Aurora wondering where she could be, but saw her nowhere. He caught Luxa's eye and gave her a sort of half-smile. Just then, Gregor's attention was directed to the female judge—the same one who had presided over his, Ares, Howard, and Andromeda's try for treason—when she rapped a stone mallet on the stand.

"Court is now in session," she barked as everyone in the room silenced.

**Author's Note: I hope you all liked it! Thanks for reading it! Please review! Reviews are like the peppermint mochas at Starbucks; they make my day, so please review! Also, the question of the chapter; (Since today is Thanksgiving) What is your favorite Thanksgiving food(s) and/or tradition(s)?**

**~~~~~Charla~~~~~**

**HAPPY THANKSGIVING! (And happy birthday, Kendal!)**


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's Note: I know I haven't updated since Thanksgiving and I thoroughly apologize for that. I'm also sorry to say that this is more of an explanation than an update. I'm saying that I didn't update before, because I had Finals, and science fair. I'm not updating now though because one of my friends—Grace-Kelly—is in the hospital with lymphoma cancer. I don't know if she's going to be okay. If she is, she'll be in the hospital for more than six months. I'm really sorry that I can't update right now I hope you understand. As of right now, I honestly can't tell you when my next update will be, but know that there will be one. Please, keep GK in your prayers.**

**~~~~~Charla~~~~~**


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I just own Merilye Ryske (you'll have to read this chapter to find out who she is) nothing else. (Oh, and I made up the name, so this is how you pronounce it; Mare-ill-I Rice-k)**

**Author's Note: Thank you so much for your patience, I know it's been waaaay too long and the wait for the next chapter will definitely be shorter than this ones wait. Thanks for your understanding about Grace Kelly. She's undergone her second chemo and steroids treatments, and has been coming to school via Skype, and can still use your thoughts and prayers. Also, thanks for all the reviews/subscribing/favoriting! Now, without further ado;**

Chapter 9

All eyes in the court room were fixed on her as she stated, "Romulus, Court Scribe, if you're ready?"

He was sitting on a small stool with piles of scrolls, a few quills, and about a dozen ink bottles around him. Romulus was a stocky man with barely any hair, and looked like he was in his early fifties. He gave her a curt nod and poised a quill over the scroll lying on his lap and started scribbling away.

"Judge Merilye Ryske presiding over the cases of Luxa, queen of Regalia, and Gregor the Overlander, also known as the Warrior. Queen Luxa's right to overrule all verdicts and punishments has been revoked for both trials. That being said, is the Council all present?" Ryske said brusquely.

Vikus slowly stood and replied in a clear voice, "Every single one of us, Merilye."

She nodded and continued, "Queen Luxa, you are being charged with absconding the Underland without probable cause, or permission, eschewing your duties, and living in danger without protection."

Luxa rolled her eyes at the last charge, but showed no other emotion.

"Do you have anything to say to these charges?" Ryske asked.

Luxa looked her right in the eye and said, her voice ringing throughout the court room, "Yes, actually, I do. For the first charge, I was visiting a few friends. You make it sound as if I were running away like a coward with no intention of ever coming back. As for the second charge, the Underland was in good enough hands, what with Vikus, the rest of the council, and"—she wrinkled her nose slightly at the last one—"Ripred. Now, that last charge is simply ludicrous. We live in nearly constant danger everyday down here, and the Overland is the pinnacle of safety compared to Regalia."

"Oh really?" Ryske said smiling slightly. "Because, we have an account from a witness who testifies that it is indeed quite the opposite."

"May I ask who this witness is?" Luxa asked in a bitter-sweet tone.

"Yes, Your Highness, this witness is Dr. Howard of the Fount. Romulus, what was his testimony?"

"Yesterday, fourteen days after Queen Luxa's departure to the Overland, Dr. Howard testified, 'I saw Luxa nearly get beaten to death by a few Overland boys, and would not have escaped without the assistance of the Warrior.'," Romulus droned in a croaky voice.

"Oh, so you're saying that Howard was in the Overland as well?" Luxa asked, slightly, both she and Gregor knowing Ryske was caught.

Ryske sputtered and ruffled her papers and finally called out angrily, "Dr. Howard to the stands!"

Gregor watched as Howard got up from a seat in the auditorium and made his way up to Judge Ryske's stand where he stopped.

"Did you, or did you not _witness_ Queen Luxa being attacked by Overland boys?" she asked in a tight voice, standing up and leaning against the front edge of the stand as she glared down at him in fury.

"No, Your Honor, I did not witness Queen Luxa's attack, but I heard from the Overlander himself that Luxa was attacked," Howard replied facing the judge with his back turned towards the audience.

Turning sharply toward Gregor, Ryske asked, "Is this true, Warrior?"

Shooting a quick look at Luxa for confirmation, Gregor replied, "I have no idea what he's talking about."

"What!" Howard bellowed, wheeling around and stalking towards Gregor's platform. "You were there! You know you said it! Your-your sister Lizzie was there! And Ripred! Ask them. Ask _them_ Judge Ryske. They'll tell the truth."

"Ripred, Lizzie," Ryske beckoned, "please come forward.

Ripred slunk over, following Howard's footsteps with Lizzie on his shoulders. When he reached the front of the judge's stand, Lizzie slid off and Ripred lazily laydown.

"Did Gregor the Overlander say anything about Queen Luxa being attacked?" Ryske asked gazing down at Ripred.

"None at all. I believe Howard was remembering when he said that the Overland must be dangerous 'when people like Gregor live among them'. Your Honor, I believe that in this particular case we cannot take Howard's words fully into account, due to the fact that he may be found…biased, so to speak, in this situation," Ripred said, twirling his whiskers.

Ryske nodded, and said, "Just to check, you confirm this, Lizzie."

"Yes."

"Very well, then. You may all return to your seats, you too, Howard."

Ripred picked Lizzie back up and loped off to their seats again with Howard sulkily trailing behind them.

"We shall drop your third charge, though the first two are still relevant despite your protests. I believe you could have suggested a visit to the Overland to the council. Any objections, Your Majesty?" Ryske continued as if nothing had happened. She looked at Luxa questioningly, daring her to object.

Luxa clearly wanted to, but thinking better of it, she replied coolly, "None at all."

"Very well, then we shall proceed with the Overlander's charges, and then the council and jury will take a thirty minute recess to review both of your charges and reach a verdict.

"Overlander, you are being charged with harboring a runaway queen of Regalia and—" she hesitated; looking agitated and looked at a scroll and then returned her gaze to Gregor.

"A fifteen minute recess shall be taken in order for the council and the court to revise the charges for the Overlander," Ryske muttered uncomfortably.

Murmuring broke out in the crowd as Judge Ryske stood quickly and walked out of the room followed by two of the jury members and the council. Ripred emerged from the crowd and started up to Gregor with ever present Lizzie at his heels. Luxa was getting off of her stand and making her way towards him too.

Seeing no other way off the platform, Gregor jumped and promptly fell to his knees.

"Now that you've got your echolocation down, we can start working on your athletic technique," Ripred smirked, stopping in front of him.

"Shut up, Ripred," he muttered, standing up and brushing himself off.

Luxa reached them and stated, "I wonder what's wrong with your charges."

"They may have found a few, ahem, errors if you will pertaining to your case," Ripred said, a mischievous glint in his eye.

"Wait," Gregor started, "what did you do, Ripred?"

"Oh, you'll see, and by the way, you owe me."

Luxa rolled her eyes saying, "What a lovely place to stand with Ripred."

"Watch it, Highness," he snapped. "Or have you forgotten that you, too, are in my debt?"

Luxa blushed.

Gregor looked back and forth from them in confusion and started, "Wait, why do you owe—"

"It is none of your concern, Overlander," Luxa barked.

"Um, okay?" Gregor said hesitantly, somewhat surprised by Luxa's abrupt outburst.

"We'd better get back to our platforms now," Luxa said, cooling off as quickly as she'd gotten mad, and pushing at her gold circlet. She indicated to the doors before adding, "The council is back."

With that she glided back to her platform and leaped up onto it, while Ripred and Lizzie took off towards the stands. Gregor made a less than graceful attempt to get back onto the platform, but did make it up by the time the council and Judge Ryske were sitting down.

"Ahem," Ryske cleared her throat, and silence fell throughout the room. "The charges for Gregor the Overlander have been dropped."

Astonished murmuring sounded throughout the room, and Judge Ryske banged on the front of her stand with a piece of rock shaped like a hockey puck and called out for silence.

"However," Ryske continued through gritted teeth, "he must agree to stay down here till he has full filled out latest prophecy. What say you, Overlander?"

Everyone in the room turned their attention toward him in anticipation for his answer.

"Uh...can my sisters leave at any given time?" he asked, not wanting either of them to be trapped in the Underland like they were during the War of Time.

"Yes," Ryske said grudgingly.

Gregor did want to stay in the Underland, and whether or not he agreed to join in the quest, he'd probably have to anyway, so he replied, "Yes."

"You may step down then, Warrior." He obliged and headed to join Ripred in the crowd as Ryske turned to Luxa, "Your verdict has been given as so,"—Ryske held out a piece of parchment and read—"'Queen Luxa of Regalia shall be suspended from all council meetings and other governing duties for three weeks' time and has been forbidden to attend the quest with the Overlander. Should she break these regulations, she shall be thrown in the dungeon for fourteen days, and to of those days-should they occur-will be spent in isolation'."

Ryske looked up with the ghost of a smile on her lips, looking very pleased with herself and gauging Luxa's reaction, while Gregor saw Vikus slump in his chair some and bring a hand to his face. Meanwhile, Luxa's cheeks were flushed with anger and looking very much like she wanted Aurora to sweep her up so she could skewer Ryske with her sword.

Luxa managed to contain herself though, and instead asked in an acutely strained voice, "Is that all?"

"Yes."

And Luxa swept out of the room with her head held high.

Gregor found Luxa an hour later in the arena thrusting her sword repeatedly into a dummy's torso, and vehemently saying some very choice words about her opinion on Ryske and the rest of the council.

"Whoa, Luxa chill!" Gregor exclaimed when he tapped her on the shoulder and she whipped around, bringing her sword's blade to his neck.

"I will not 'chill', Gregor," she grunted as she turned back around and plunged her sword into the dummy again.

Gregor sighed and tried again, "You can get around the quest thing. Even if you can't get the council to change their mind, you'll probably sneak on anyway."

"You just don't get it, do you!" she shouted, spinning around to face him. "I'm watched like a traitor now! I am NEVER alone."

"We're alone now," Gregor said, glancing around the empty arena and seeing no one.

"No we aren't," she replied tiredly. "See?" Then, turning her head away from Gregor she shouted, "I need a new dummy!"

A middle-aged guard came rushing out of a tunnel on the adjacent—for an oval, anyway—side of the arena lugging a new-intact tan dummy, that appeared to be made of cow hide behind him.

"Here you are, Your Majesty," he panted before bowing hastily and retreating to the tunnel in which he'd been lurking.

"People are always watching. There are probably more of them put there than I know about, but there's nothing I can do," she said bitterly, watching his retreating form.

"I wonder," Gregor began, seizing the sword from Luxa's relaxed hand, "if they'd stop me from assassinating their queen."

"Ha," she said, grabbing a new sword from the wall and taking a fighting stance of her own. "You can't beat me, even if you are a rager."

"You're on," Gregor grinned as he lunged.

**Author's Note: I hope you like the chapter! Thanks again for your patience. And if you live in the Midwest like me, I hope you're enjoying the 2 inches of ice covering everything! I've had three days off of school, and was ice skating down my street today! It's so much fun. My cousin, Anna, (she goes to Wheaton in Chicago) went sledding down some football bleachers on Wednesday. Not sure how she did it, but it sounded like fun. Also, Grace Kelly finished her second round of chemo treatment on Friday, and is responding to treatment well. Her immune system isn't in its best shape, so she caught the flu from her sister and is having to take medication for that on top of her cancer medicine. You can join the Support Grace Kelly Leon page on Facebook to find out more on how shes doing. And, question of the chapter; what is your favorite movie from 2010? I thought Inception was really good. Also, my pole is still up on my profile. ****Anyways, like always, please/por favor/si vous ple review!**

**~~~~~Charla~~~~~**


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